Traffic steering in a heterogeneous network

ABSTRACT

Techniques for traffic steering are disclosed. A first signal characteristic of a first connection between an electronic device and a first wireless communications network is determined. A second signal characteristic of a second connection between the electronic device and a second wireless communications network is also determined. Based on the first signal characteristic and the second signal characteristic, the electronic device is prevented from attempting to establish the second connection until one or more establishment criteria are met.

RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/792,602 filed Oct. 24, 2017, which claims benefit of UnitedStates, provisional patent application No. 62/535,362, filed on Jul. 21,2017. The aforementioned related patent application is hereinincorporated by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to wireless networking, and inparticular, steering traffic between a wireless local area network and acellular network.

BACKGROUND

Current wireless-enabled user equipment (sometimes referred to a “UE”hereinafter) (e.g., smartphones, tablets, laptop computers, etc.)contain multi-radio hardware that enables wireless communication withboth wireless local area networks (sometimes referred to a “WLAN”hereinafter) (e.g., 802.11-based standards, WiFi) and Third GenerationPartnership Project (3GPP) defined cellular networks (e.g., 3G, 4G, LTE,5G). Under a certain scheme, a UE in both a cellular network coveragearea and WLAN coverage area automatically connects to the WLAN orautomatically switches its connection from the cellular network to theWLAN, provided that a WLAN signal quality threshold is satisfied. Thiscan be problematic, however, because the UE connects to the WLAN evenwhen the cellular network would provide a stronger signal.

Previous systems have attempted to resolve this problem, but theyexhibit several shortcomings. One type of this system, upon detectingthat the cellular signal is stronger than the WLAN signal, denies the UEconnection to the WLAN for a pre-determined amount of time (e.g.,“backoff time”). But this generates other problems: (1) other devicesexperience airtime pollution because the UE continues to send severalprobe requests to the WLAN network while attempting to connect to it and(2) the network controller repeatedly denies subsequent associationrequests unless the timer expires or a WLAN signal strength threshold issatisfied. The numerousness of the denied association requests can leadto the UE blacklisting the WLAN (e.g., the UE labels the WLAN asunavailable), thereby preventing a WLAN connection even if the WLANconnection has improved (e.g., has become better than the cellularconnection).

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of aspects of the various implementationsdescribed herein and to show more clearly how they may be carried intoeffect, reference is made, by way of example only, to the accompanyingdrawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system for steering UE traffic between acellular network and a wireless LAN in accordance with variousimplementation described in this application.

FIG. 2 is a depiction of a traffic steering controller system thatfunctions in accordance with various implementation described in thisapplication.

FIG. 3 is a depiction of a procedure for preventing the UE fromattempting to connect to the WLAN in accordance with variousimplementation described in this application.

FIG. 4 is a depiction of a procedure for the UE connecting to the WLANaccording to satisfaction of one or more establishment criteria inaccordance with various implementation described in this application.

FIG. 5 is a depiction of a method of steering a UE between a cellularnetwork and a WLAN.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an example of a device in accordance withsome implementations.

In accordance with common practice the various features illustrated inthe drawings may not be drawn to scale. Accordingly, the dimensions ofthe various features may be arbitrarily expanded or reduced for clarity.In addition, some of the drawings may not depict all of the componentsof a given system, method or device. Finally, like reference numeralsmay be used to denote like features throughout the specification andfigures.

DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

Numerous details are described herein in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of illustrative implementations shown in the drawings.However, the drawings merely show some example aspects of the presentdisclosure and are therefore not to be considered limiting. Those ofordinary skill in the art will appreciate from the present disclosurethat other effective aspects and/or variants do not include all of thespecific details described herein. Moreover, well-known systems,methods, components, devices and circuits have not been described inexhaustive detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure more pertinentaspects of the implementations described herein.

Overview

Various implementations disclosed herein include apparatuses, systems,and methods enabling the steering of user equipment (sometimes referredto a “UE” hereinafter) between wireless networks. Embodiments includereceiving a first signal characteristic of a first connection between anelectronic device and a cellular communications network, determining asecond signal characteristic of a second connection between theelectronic device and a wireless local area network (WLAN), determiningthat a first one or more establishment criteria are not met based on thefirst signal characteristic and the second signal characteristic,preventing the electronic device from attempting to establish the secondconnection based on the determining that the first one or moreestablishment criteria are not met, and transmitting to the electronicdevice a network message including a vendor specific information element(IE) identifying a second plurality of establishment criteriaidentifying conditions for the electronic device to attempt to establishthe second connection. The second establishment criteria, identified inthe vendor specific IE transmitted to the electronic device, includesboth a time criteria identifying a time condition for the electronicdevice to attempt to establish the second connection and a connectioncriteria identifying a connection condition for the electronic device toattempt to establish the second connection. The electronic device parsesthe vendor specific IE to identify the time criteria and the connectioncriteria. The electronic device also determines, after the preventingbased on determining that the first one or more establishment criteriaare not met, that at least one of the time criteria or the connectioncriteria is met, and in response the electronic device attempts tore-establish the second connection.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system 100 for steering UE trafficbetween a cellular network and a wireless LAN. The system 100 includingat least two Radio Access Networks (RANs), a first RAN 103 and a secondRAN 104, that each can provide a UE with connectivity to a Wide AreaNetwork 102 (WAN) (e.g., the Internet). The system 100 includes a UE 101(e.g., cell phone, tablet, laptop, etc.) that has multiple wirelessradios, enabling it to communicate with the first RAN 103 and the secondRAN 104. For ease of illustration, the system 100 of FIG. 1 depicts twoRANs 103/104, but it is to be appreciated that the system 100 caninclude more than two RANs. Each RAN implements a Radio AccessTechnology (RAT). A RAT can be broadly categorized as being associatedwith either a cellular network (e.g., a 3GPP defined standard, such as3G, 4G, LTE, 5G) or a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) (e.g., 802.11standards, such as WiFi). The first RAN 103 is depicted is beingassociated with a cellular network. The second RAN 104 is depicted asbeing associated with a WLAN. The terms “heterogeneous wireless network(HWN)” and/or “heterogeneous network (HetNet)” can be used to describethis kind of system, in which the UE 101 is being provided connectivityto the WAN 102 through two or more RANs implementing two or more RATs.

The first RAN 103 includes one or more cellular base stations 105 thatprovide the UE 101 with direct connectivity to the first RAN 103 andultimately with connectivity to the WAN 102. For example, in an LTE RAT,the base station 105 is known as an Evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB). Forexample, in a 5G RAT, the base station 105 is known as a gNodeB. Trafficsent by the UE 101 and received at the base station 105 is routed and bya routing interface 107 to a forwarding interface 108, which in turnprovides the traffic to the WAN 102. For example, in an LTE RAT, therouting interface 107 is known as a “Serving Gateway (SGW),” theforwarding interface 108 is known as a “Packet Data Network (PDN)Gateway (PDN-GW), and the WAN 102 is known as a “Packet Data Network.”

The second RAN 104 includes one or more Access Points 106 that providethe UE 101 with direct connectivity to the second RAN 104. The AccessPoint 106 is IEEE 802.11 compliant (e.g. WiFi compliant). The AccessPoint 106 provides the UE 101 with connectivity to the WAN 102. Thesecond RAN 104 can be integrated with the first RAN 103 in a number ofways. In some implantations, the first RAN 103 and the second RAN 104share the forwarding interface 108, a scheme sometimes known as“seamless offloading.” In some implementations, the first RAN 103 andthe second RAN 104 have separate forwarding interfaces.

In some implementations, an approach for steering traffic between thefirst RAN 103 and the second RAN 104 is performed at a controller at theAccess Point 106. In some implementations, an approach for steeringtraffic between the first RAN 103 and the second RAN 104 is performed ata network controller 107 within the second RAN 104, which is coupled tothe Access Point 106 but resides on a network appliance separate fromthe Access Point 106. For example, the network controller 107 can be aWireless LAN Controller (WLC), running Cisco's AireOS Operating System.

FIG. 2 is a depiction of a traffic steering controller system 200. Withreference to FIG. 1, the system 200 or one or more portions of thesystem 200 (e.g., 201-206) can reside at the Access Point 106 and/or atthe networking controller 107. The system 200 functions according tovarious implementation described in this application.

The system 200 includes a cellular condition module 201. The cellularcondition module 201 determines a first signal characteristic of aconnection between a cellular network and a UE, the UE being in thecoverage area of the cellular network and configured to communicate withthe cellular network. With reference to FIG. 1, the UE can berepresented as UE 101. With further reference to FIG. 1, the cellularnetwork can be represented as a First RAN (Radio Access Network) 103that is implementing a cellular RAT (e.g., 3G, 4G, LTE, 5G). The firstsignal characteristic characterizes a condition of the cellular networkvis-à-vis the UE. In some implementations, the first signalcharacteristic can be binary (e.g., associated or not). In someimplementations, the first signal characteristic can be a value. In someimplementations, the first signal characteristic includes informationcharacterizing a quality of signals between the UE and the cellularnetwork. For example, the first signal characteristic can include aReceived Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) indicating a strength of asignal between the UE and the cellular network. In another example, thefirst signal characteristic includes throughput informationcharacterizing the UE-to-cellular network link.

The system 200 includes a WLAN condition module 202. The WLAN conditionmodule 202 determines a second signal characteristic of a connectionbetween a WLAN and a UE, the UE being in the coverage area of the WLANand configured to communicate with the WLAN. With reference to FIG. 1,the UE can be represented as UE 101. With further reference to FIG. 1,the WLAN can be represented as a second RAN (Radio Access Network) 104that is implementing a WLAN RAT (e.g., 802.11, WiFi). The second signalcharacteristic characterizes a condition of the WLAN vis-à-vis the UE.In some implementations, the second signal characteristic can be binary(e.g., associated or not). In some implementations, the second signalcharacteristic can be a value. In some implementations, the secondsignal characteristic includes information characterizing a quality ofsignals between the UE and the WLAN. For example, the second signalcharacteristic can include a Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI)indicating a strength of a signal communicated between the UE and theWLAN. In another example, the second signal characteristic includesthroughput information characterizing the UE-to-WLAN link.

The system 200 includes a steering decision module 203. The steeringdecision module 203 obtains a first signal characteristic and a secondsignal characteristic from the cellular condition monitor 201 and theWLAN condition monitor 202, respectively. Based on this information, thesteering decision module 203 can determine whether to prevent the UEfrom attempting to connect to the WLAN. This determination applies tothe case where the UE is currently connected to the WLAN and the casewhere it is not.

Whether the steering decision module 203 decides to prevent the UE fromattempting to connect to the WLAN depends on the first signalcharacteristic and the second signal characteristic. In someimplementations, a value of the first signal characteristic relative toa corresponding value of the second signal characteristic is used indetermining whether to prevent the UE from attempting to connect to theWLAN. For example, the steering decision module 203 decides to preventan attempted connection if the difference between an RSSI valueassociated with the UE-to-cellular connection and a corresponding RSSIvalue associated with the UE-to-WLAN satisfies a threshold value. Insome implementations, an absolute value of the first signalcharacteristic and/or an absolute value of the second signalcharacteristic is used in determining whether to prevent the UE fromattempting to connect to the WLAN. For example, the steering decisionmodule determines to prevent an attempted connection if a throughputvalue characterizing the UE-to-WLAN connection satisfies a threshold. Insome implementations, a combination of relative and absolute values ofthe first and second signal characteristics are used in determiningwhether to prevent the UE from attempting to connect to the WLAN.

In some implementations, a time criteria can be used in conjunction witha signal characteristic of a first signal characteristic and/or a signalcharacteristic of the second signal characteristic. For example, thesteering decision module 203 can decide to prevent the UE fromattempting to connect to the WLAN if a RSSI value associated with thesecond signal characteristic satisfies a threshold for at least 1 ms. Inanother example, the steering decision module 203 can decide to preventthe UE from attempting to connect to the WLAN if the difference betweena signal strength (e.g., RSSI value) associated with the first signalcharacteristic and a signal strength (e.g., RSSI value) associated withthe second signal characteristic satisfies a threshold for at least 0.5ms. In another example, in an LTE deployment, the steering decisionmodule 203 can decide to prevent the UE from attempting to connect tothe WLAN if the difference between a reference signal received quality(RSRQ) associated with the first signal characteristic and the RSSIassociated with the second signal characteristic satisfied a thresholdfor a threshold amount of time.

Threshold values (e.g., signal strength, throughput) and other criteria(e.g., time criteria) used in determining whether to prevent the UE fromattempting to connect to the WLAN can be stored in the steering decisiondatastore 204.

The system 200 includes a steering module 205 that works in conjunctionwith the steering decision module 203. The steering module 205 operatesto (1) prevent the UE from attempting to connect to the WLAN after thesteering decision module 203 determines that a prevention isinappropriate and (2) establish a connection between the UE and WLAN ifthreshold and/or criteria are satisfied. By preventing the UE fromattempting to connect to the WLAN in conjunction with the steeringdecision module 203 and facilitating establishment of a connecting tothe WLAN upon threshold(s) and/or criteria being satisfied, the steeringmodule 205 can prevent (1) airtime pollution resulting from the UEsending probe requests to the WLAN while trying to connect and (2) avoidthe UE blacklisting the associated Access Point due to probe requestsrepeatedly ignored by the associated Access Point.

In some implementations, the steering module 205 works in conjunctionwith an Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting (AAA) serverrunning a Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service (RADIUS) protocol.The AAA server (not pictured in FIG. 1) is part of the WLAN and iscoupled to the UE. In some implementations, the RADIUS protocol isimplemented according to Vendor Specific Attributes (VSAs). The steeringmodule 205 can provide the AAA server with information that the AAAserver can use in preventing the UE from attempting to associate withthe WLAN and/or establishing a connection between the UE and the WLAN.For example, the AAA server can prevent an attempted UE connection tothe WLAN if a value of a throughput of the WLAN is less than a value ofa throughput of the cellular network. The steering module 205 canprovide the AAA server with information according to various criteria.In some implementations, the steering module 205 provides the AAA serverwith messages upon the UE associating with the WLAN. In someimplementations, the WLAN association module 206 provides the AAA serverwith messages at predetermined time intervals. In some implementations,the WLAN association module 206 provides the AAA server with messagesaccording to a certain signal threshold being satisfied (e.g., the WLANthroughput vis-à-vis the UE connection satisfies a threshold). Thediscussion that follows with respect to the operation of the steeringmodule 205 can be implemented with the steering module 205 working inconjunction with the AAA server.

Preventing the UE from Attempting to Connect to the WLAN

The steering module 205 can prevent the UE from attempting to connect tothe WLAN using a number of mechanisms. In some implementations, thesteering module 205 can deauthenticate (e.g., sending an 802.11deauthentication (Deauth) frame) the UE to disassociate the UE from theWLAN. In some implementations, the steering module 205 fails to send an802.11 association response to prevent the UE from joining the WLAN.

In a variety of implementations, the steering module 205 can prevent theUE from attempting to connect to the WLAN in a manner that removes theneed for the UE to determine whether criteria are met before it laterattempts to establish a connection to the WLAN. In some implementations,the steering module 205 prevents the UE from attempting to connect tothe WLAN by partially null-beamforming probe responses sent to the UE inresponse to the UE sending probe requests in an attempt to associatewith the WLAN. This partial null-beamforming leads the UE to believe theWLAN is out of range, and thus the UE will not attempt to connect to theWLAN (e.g., not send additional probe requests). If the UE uses anactual MAC address, the Access Point can send selectively partiallynull-beamform probe requests for the de-associated UE. If the UE uses alocally-administered address, the Access Point can beam-form based onwhether the probe request satisfies a criteria (e.g., a RSSI value). Insome implementations, the steering module 205 prevents the UE fromattempting to connect to the WLAN by obfuscating WLAN parameters. Theobfuscation leads the WLAN to appear, from the perspective of the UE, tohave characteristics incompatible with those of the UE. Accordingly, theUE will not attempt to connect to the WLAN (e.g., not send additionalprobe requests). The obfuscated WLAN parameters can include securityparameters, WLAN address (e.g., random SSID string value), and others(e.g., reserved bits in IE being populated).

Establishing a Connection between the UE and WLAN in Accordance withSatisfaction of One or more Establishment Criteria

The steering module 205 can permit the UE to connect to the WLAN inaccordance with a satisfaction of one or more establishment criteria. Byhaving the UE wait until of one more establishment criteria aresatisfied before connecting to the WLAN, the UE avoids blacklisting theWLAN and frees up airtime for other devices.

In some implementations, one or more establishment criteria include atime criteria. The UE can connect to the WLAN in accordance withsatisfaction of a time criteria. For example, a time criteriacorresponding to 5 ms indicates to the UE to wait for 5 ms beforeconnecting to the WLAN (e.g., sending probe requests).

In some implementations, one or more establishment criteria include aWLAN network condition criteria. The WLAN network condition criteriaincludes one or more thresholds relating to the condition of theUE-to-WLAN connection. If a WLAN network condition criteria issatisfied, the UE can connect to the WLAN. Using a WLAN networkcondition criteria allows the UE to connect to the WLAN in the event theconditions improve. For example, moving a UE sufficiently close to theWLAN could trigger satisfaction of a corresponding WLAN conditioncriteria.

In one implementation, the WLAN network condition criteria relates to aReceived Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) threshold. The UE can connectto the WLAN if a RSSI value corresponding to the UE satisfies the RSSIthreshold. For example, the UE can determine a corresponding RSSI valuebased on beacons and/or probe response. In one implementation, the WLANnetwork condition criteria relates to a throughput threshold. Forexample, the UE can connect to the WLAN in response to determining thatan estimated throughput of the UE-to-WLAN connection satisfies thethroughput threshold. A throughput can be estimated by using, forexample, the method described in IEEE 802.11-14/1246r7.

In a variety of implementations, one or more establishment criteria canbe based on one or more vendor-specific information elements (IE) sentto the UE. As mentioned previously, any functionality of the steeringmodule 205 can reside at an Access Point and/or a WLC (Wireless LANController). Accordingly, in some implementations, a vendor-specific IEcan be provided to the UE by the steering module 205 (e.g., as part ofthe WLAN infrastructure) in response to a probe request sent to the WLANfrom the UE.

In some implementations, the vendor-specific IE can be included as partof a management frame (e.g., 802.11v frame). In some implementations, avendor-specific IE can be provided to the UE in an 802.11 Deauth frame.In some implementations, a vendor-specific IE can be provided to the UEin an 802.11 Association Response.

The vendor-specific IE can include a variety of thresholds and criteriaas previously described (e.g., RSSI, threshold, time). These thresholdsand criteria can be stored in the steering datastore 206. Although thesteering datastore 206 and the steering decision datastore 204 aredepicted in FIG. 2 as being separate, it is to be appreciated that theycan reside on the same memory device or on separate memory devices. Upondetermining that a threshold and/or criteria is satisfied, the UE canconnect to the WLAN, for example, by sending an 802.11 Associationrequest.

In some implementations, in response to the UE being de-authenticated(e.g., by receiving a Deauth frame), the UE queries a server running aquery and response protocol that defines services offered by a WLAN orAccess Point. One example of this kind of server is an ANQP (AccessNetwork Query Protocol) server. The UE queries this server (e.g., UEsends an 802.11u GAS (Generic Advertisement Service) request to an ANQPserver), and the server, in response, provides one or more establishmentcriteria to the UE. In some implementations, the one or moreestablishment criteria provided by the server is based onvendor-specific options included in the request. The one or moreestablishment criteria provided by the server can include a variety ofcriteria and thresholds as describe previously (e.g., RSSI, threshold,time).

In some implementations, the UE queries a cellular-based (e.g., 3GPP)server that functions to assist the UE in discovering additional WLANnetworks (e.g., WiFi, WiMAX). An example of this kind of server is anANSDF (Access Network Discovery and Selection Function) server. The UEqueries an IP-based interface (e.g., S14 for ANSDF) of the server, andthe server returns one or more establishment criteria. The one or moreestablishment criteria provided by the ANSDF server can include avariety of criteria and thresholds as describe previously (e.g., RSSI,threshold, time).

FIG. 3 is a depiction of a procedure for preventing the UE (e.g., 101)from attempting to connect to a WLAN (e.g., second RAN 104) inaccordance with various implementation described in this application. Atstep 301, a UE 101 connected to a cellular network (e.g., first RAN 103)and within a coverage area of a WLAN sends to a steering decision module203 a request to attempt to associate with the WLAN. This triggers thesteering decision module 203, at step 302 to request from the cellularcondition module 201 and from the WLAN condition module 202 currentconditions at the cellular network and at the WLAN, respectively. Thecellular condition module 201 and the WLAN condition module 202 at step303 return to the steering decision module 203 a first signalcharacteristic and a second signal criteria that characterize conditionsat the cellular network and the WLAN, respectively.

Based on the first signal characteristic and the second signal criteria,the steering decision module 203 determines whether to prevent the UEfrom attempting to connect to the WLAN. For example, if the first signalcharacteristic indicates the UE-to-cellular connection signal isstronger than a corresponding UE-to-WLAN connection signal as indicatedby the second signal criteria, then the steering decision module candetermine that the UE should be prevented from attempting to the WLAN.Various other first signal characteristic and second criteria andmechanisms for determining whether to prevent the UE from connecting tothe WLAN based on them are described throughout this application.

At step 304, the steering decision module 203 provides to a steeringmodule 205 the determination as to whether the UE should be preventedfrom attempting to connect to the WLAN. If the determination wasaffirmative (yes), the steering module 205 prevents the UE fromattempting to connect to the WLAN. A number of mechanisms as describedthroughout this application can be used by the steering module 205 toprevent the UE from attempting to connect to the WLAN.

FIG. 4 depicts a procedure for connecting a UE (e.g., 101) to a WLAN(e.g., second RAN 104) according to satisfaction of one or moreestablishment criteria in accordance with various implementationdescribed in this application. At step 401, a UE 101 connected to acellular network (e.g., first RAN 103) and within a coverage area of aWLAN sends to a steering decision module 203 a request to attempt toassociate with the WLAN. In accordance with examples provided throughoutthis application, the steering decision module 203 determines that theUE should be allowed to attempt to connect to the WLAN.

At step 402, the steering decision module 203 notifies the steeringmodule 205 of this decision. In response, the steering module 205 atstep 403 provides the UE with one or more establishment criteria,including a time criteria and WLAN network condition criteria. It is tobe appreciated that the one or more establishment criteria need notinclude both the time criteria and the WLAN network condition criteria,and in some implementations include one or the other.

In some implementations, at step 404, before the time criteria issatisfied, the UE determines that the WLAN network condition criteria issatisfied and in response connects to the WLAN. For example, if a personwith a cell phone walks closer to a WiFi café, the throughput of theWiFi network as estimated by the cell phone increases. If the throughputreaches an adequately high level, a WLAN network condition criteriacorresponding to a throughput threshold would be satisfied, allowing thecell phone to connect to the WiFi network (e.g., begin sending proberequests to the WiFi network)

In some implementations, at step 405, the time criteria is satisfiedbefore the UE determines that the WLAN network condition criteria issatisfied. For example, as a person with a cell phone leaves a WiFicafé, an RSSI associated with the phone's connection to the WiFi networkdecreases. Accordingly, a WLAN network condition criteria correspondingto the RSSI threshold would not be satisfied, and the cell phone wouldwait a certain amount of time before satisfaction of the time criteriawas satisfied before sending more probe requests. This prevents the cellphone from polluting the airtime of other UEs that have a better WiFiconnection.

FIG. 5 is a depiction of a method of steering a UE (e.g., 101) between acellular network (e.g., First RAN 103) and a WLAN (e.g., second RAN 104)according to various implementations described in this application. Atstep 5-1, a UE 101 connected to a cellular network (e.g., first RAN 103)and within a coverage area of a WLAN attempts to associate with theWLAN.

In response, at step 5-2 a steering decision module 203 at the WLANcompares a first signal characteristic characterizing a condition at thecellular network with a second signal characteristic characterizing acondition at the WLAN. At step 5-3, the steering decision module 203determines whether the result of the comparison indicates that it wouldbe favorable for the UE 101 to attempt to connect to the WLAN. Anaffirmative determination (“Yes”) would be reached by the steeringmodule 203 if, for example, the first signal characteristic and thesecond signal characteristic collectively indicates that the cellularnetwork is operating nearer its full-capacity than the WLAN with respectto its full-capacity. An affirmative determination leads to step 5-7, atwhich the UE 101 connects to the WLAN.

A negative determination (“No”) leads to step 5-4, at which the steeringmodule 205 prevents the UE from attempting to connect to the WLAN inaccordance with one of the various implementations described in thisapplication. At step 5-5, the steering module 205 sends establishmentcriteria to the UE 101, including a time criteria and a WLAN networkcondition criteria in accordance with various implementations describedin this application. For example, a time criteria of 10 ms and anestablishment criteria being an RSSI value of −70 db could be providedto the UE 101. At step 5-6, the steering module 205 determines whetherthe time criteria is satisfied before the WLAN network conditioncriteria is satisfied. Continuing with the example, if the UE 101estimates a RSSI value that satisfies the −70 dbm criteria, then thesteering module 205 would permit the UE 101 to connect to the WLAN (atstep 5-7), by, for example, sending an 802.11 association response tothe UE 101. If, however, 5 ms passes before the UE 101 estimates a RSSIvalue that satisfies the −70 dbm criteria, then the process moves tostep 5-1 where the UE 101 can send another association request to thesteering decision module 203. In this way, in the event that theUE-to-WLAN connection is not favorable to the UE 101, the UE 101 isprevented from polluting the airtime of devices connected to the WLANfor a period of time.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an example of a device 600 in accordancewith some implementations. For example, in some implementations, thedevice 600 is similar to and adapted from the traffic steeringcontroller system 200 in FIG. 2. While certain specific features areillustrated, those skilled in the art will appreciate from the presentdisclosure that various other features have not been illustrated for thesake of brevity, and so as not to obscure more pertinent aspects of theimplementations disclosed herein. To that end, as a non-limitingexample, in some implementations the device 600 includes one or moreprocessing units (CPU's) 602, a network interface 603, a memory 610, aprogramming (I/O) interface 605, and one or more communication buses 604for interconnecting these and various other components. In someimplementations, the one or more communication buses 404 includecircuitry that interconnects and controls communications between systemcomponents.

The memory 610 includes high-speed random access memory, such as DRAM,SRAM, DDR RAM, or other random access solid state memory devices. Insome implementations, the memory 610 includes non-volatile memory, suchas one or more magnetic disk storage devices, optical disk storagedevices, flash memory devices, or other non-volatile solid state storagedevices. The memory 610 optionally includes one or more storage devicesremotely located from the one or more CPUs 402. The memory 610 comprisesa non-transitory computer readable storage medium. In someimplementations, the memory 610 or the non-transitory computer readablestorage medium of the memory 610 stores the following programs, modulesand data structures, or a subset thereof including an optional operatingsystem 620, a cellular condition module 650, a WLAN condition module652, a steering decision module 654, and a steering module 656.

The operating system 620 includes procedures for handling various basicsystem services and for performing hardware dependent tasks.

The cellular condition module 650 is configured to obtain a first signalcharacteristic characterizing a cellular network WLAN according tovarious implementations describe in this application. To that end, invarious implementations, the cellular condition module 650 includesinstructions and/or logic 651.

The WLAN condition module 652 is configured to obtain a second signalcharacteristic characterizing a WLAN according to variousimplementations describe in this application. To that end, in variousimplementations, the WLAN condition module 652 includes instructionsand/or logic 653.

The steering decision module 654 is configured to obtain a first signalcharacteristic and a second signal characteristic from the cellularcondition monitor 650 and the WLAN condition monitor 652, respectively.Based on this information, the steering decision module 654 isconfigured to determine whether to prevent a UE from attempting toconnect to the WLAN. To that end, in various implementations, thesteering decision module 654 includes instructions and/or logic 655 a,and heuristics and data 655 bb.

The steering module 656 is configured to, based on a determination fromthe steering decision module 654, prevent a UE from attempting toconnect to the WLAN and/or establish a connection between the UE and theWLAN according to satisfaction of one or more establishment criteria. Tothat end, in various implementations, the steering module 655 includesinstructions and/or logic 657 a, and heuristics and data 657 b.

Although the cellular condition module 650, the WLAN condition module652, the steering decision module 654, and the steering module 656 areillustrated as residing on a single device (i.e., the device 600), itshould be understood that in other implementations, any combination ofthe cellular condition module 650, the WLAN condition module 652, thesteering decision module 654, and the steering module 656 can reside inseparate computing devices. For example, each of the cellular conditionmodule 650, the WLAN condition module 652, the steering decision module654, and the steering module 656 can reside on a separate device.

Moreover, FIG. 6 is intended more as functional description of thevarious features which be present in a particular embodiment as opposedto a structural schematic of the implementations described herein. Asrecognized by those of ordinary skill in the art, items shown separatelycould be combined and some items could be separated. For example, somefunctional modules shown separately in FIG. 6 could be implemented in asingle module and the various functions of single functional blockscould be implemented by one or more functional blocks in variousimplementations. The actual number of modules and the division ofparticular functions and how features are allocated among them will varyfrom one embodiment to another and, in some implementations, depends inpart on the particular combination of hardware, software, and/orfirmware chosen for a particular embodiment.

While various aspects of implementations within the scope of theappended claims are described above, it should be apparent that thevarious features of implementations described above may be embodied in awide variety of forms and that any specific structure and/or functiondescribed above is merely illustrative. Based on the present disclosureone skilled in the art should appreciate that an aspect described hereinmay be implemented independently of any other aspects and that two ormore of these aspects may be combined in various ways. For example, anapparatus may be implemented and/or a method may be practiced using anynumber of the aspects set forth herein. In addition, such an apparatusmay be implemented and/or such a method may be practiced using otherstructure and/or functionality in addition to or other than one or moreof the aspects set forth herein.

It will also be understood that, although the terms “first,” “second,”etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elementsshould not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used todistinguish one element from another. For example, a first signalcharacteristic, and, similarly, a second signal characteristic could betermed a first signal characteristic, which changing the meaning of thedescription, so long as all occurrences of the “first signalcharacteristic” are renamed consistently and all occurrences of the“second signal characteristic” are renamed consistently. The firstsignal characteristic and the second signal characteristic are bothsignal characteristics, but they are not the same signal characteristic.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the claims. Asused in the description of the embodiments and the appended claims, thesingular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the pluralforms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It willalso be understood that the term “and/or” as used herein refers to andencompasses any and all possible combinations of one or more of theassociated listed items. It will be further understood that the terms“comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification,specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations,elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence oraddition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations,elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

As used herein, the term “if” may be construed to mean “when” or “upon”or “in response to determining” or “in accordance with a determination”or “in response to detecting,” that a stated condition precedent istrue, depending on the context. Similarly, the phrase “if it isdetermined [that a stated condition precedent is true]” or “if [a statedcondition precedent is true]” or “when [a stated condition precedent istrue]” may be construed to mean “upon determining” or “in response todetermining” or “in accordance with a determination” or “upon detecting”or “in response to detecting” that the stated condition precedent istrue, depending on the context.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving a first signalcharacteristic of a first connection between an electronic device and acellular communications network; determining a second signalcharacteristic of a second connection between the electronic device anda wireless local area network (WLAN); and determining that a first oneor more establishment criteria are not met based on the first signalcharacteristic and the second signal characteristic; preventing theelectronic device from attempting to establish the second connectionbased on the determining that the first one or more establishmentcriteria are not met; and transmitting to the electronic device anetwork message comprising a vendor specific information element (IE)identifying a second plurality of establishment criteria identifyingconditions for the electronic device to attempt to establish the secondconnection, wherein the second establishment criteria, identified in thevendor specific IE transmitted to the electronic device, comprises botha time criteria identifying a time condition for the electronic deviceto attempt to establish the second connection and a connection criteriaidentifying a connection condition for the electronic device to attemptto establish the second connection, wherein the electronic device parsesthe vendor specific IE to identify the time criteria and the connectioncriteria, and wherein the electronic device determines, after thepreventing based on determining that the first one or more establishmentcriteria are not met, that at least one of the time criteria or theconnection criteria is met, and in response the electronic deviceattempts to re-establish the second connection.
 2. The method of claim1, wherein the network message comprises one of: (i) a management frame,(ii) a deauthentication frame, or (iii) an association response.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the second one or more establishment criteriaare the same as the first one or more establishment criteria.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the first signal characteristic and thesecond signal characteristic include respective informationcharacterizing a quality of signals between the electronic device andthe respective wireless communications network.
 5. The method of claim1, wherein the first one or more establishment criteria includes acriterion that is satisfied when the first signal characteristic exceedsa first threshold value.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first oneor more establishment criteria includes a criterion that is satisfiedwhen the second signal characteristic exceeds a second threshold value.7. The method of claim 1, wherein preventing the electronic device fromattempting to establish the second connection includes transmitting adeauthentication frame to the electronic device.
 8. The method of claim1, wherein preventing the electronic device from attempting to establishthe second connection includes partially null-beamforming proberesponses transmitted to the electronic device.
 9. The method of claim1, wherein preventing the electronic device from attempting to establishthe second connection includes obfuscating parameters associated withthe WLAN.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic device isconfigured to wait to attempt to re-establish the second connectionuntil the at least one of the time criteria or the connection criteriahas been met.
 11. A networking device comprising: a computer processor;and a memory having instructions stored thereon which, when executed onthe computer processor, performs an operation comprising: receiving afirst signal characteristic of a first connection between an electronicdevice and a cellular communications network; determining a secondsignal characteristic of a second connection between the electronicdevice and a wireless local area network (WLAN); and determining that afirst one or more establishment criteria are not met based on the firstsignal characteristic and the second signal characteristic; preventingthe electronic device from attempting to establish the second connectionbased on the determining that the first one or more establishmentcriteria are not met; and transmitting to the electronic device anetwork message comprising a vendor specific information element (IE)identifying a second plurality of establishment criteria identifyingconditions for the electronic device to attempt to establish the secondconnection, wherein the second establishment criteria, identified in thevendor specific IE transmitted to the electronic device, comprises botha time criteria identifying a time condition for the electronic deviceto attempt to establish the second connection and a connection criteriaidentifying a connection condition for the electronic device to attemptto establish the second connection, wherein the electronic device parsesthe vendor specific IE to identify the time criteria and the connectioncriteria, and wherein the electronic device determines, after thepreventing based on determining that the first one or more establishmentcriteria are not met, that at least one of the time criteria or theconnection criteria is met, and in response the electronic deviceattempts to re-establish the second connection.
 12. The networkingdevice of claim 11, wherein the first one or more establishment criteriaincludes a criterion that is satisfied when the first signalcharacteristic exceeds a first threshold value and/or the second signalcharacteristic exceeds a second threshold value.
 13. The networkingdevice of claim 11, wherein preventing the electronic device fromattempting to establish the second connection includes transmitting adeauthentication frame to the electronic device.
 14. The networkingdevice of claim 11, wherein preventing the electronic device fromattempting to establish the second connection includes partiallynull-beamforming probe responses transmitted to the electronic device.15. The networking device of claim 11, wherein preventing the electronicdevice from attempting to establish the second connection includesobfuscating parameters associated with the WLAN.
 16. The networkingdevice of claim 11, wherein the network message comprises one of: (i) amanagement frame, (ii) a deauthentication frame, or (iii) an associationresponse.
 17. A non-transitory memory storing one or more programs, theone or more programs comprising instructions, which, when executed byone or more processors performs an operation comprising: receiving afirst signal characteristic of a first connection between an electronicdevice and a cellular communications network; determining a secondsignal characteristic of a second connection between the electronicdevice and a wireless local area network (WLAN); and determining that afirst one or more establishment criteria are not met based on the firstsignal characteristic and the second signal characteristic; preventingthe electronic device from attempting to establish the second connectionbased on the determining that the first one or more establishmentcriteria are not met; and transmitting to the electronic device anetwork message comprising a vendor specific information element (IE)identifying a second plurality of establishment criteria identifyingconditions for the electronic device to attempt to establish the secondconnection, wherein the second establishment criteria, identified in thevendor specific IE transmitted to the electronic device, comprises botha time criteria identifying a time condition for the electronic deviceto attempt to establish the second connection and a connection criteriaidentifying a connection condition for the electronic device to attemptto establish the second connection, wherein the electronic device parsesthe vendor specific IE to identify the time criteria and the connectioncriteria, and wherein the electronic device determines, after thepreventing based on determining that the first one or more establishmentcriteria are not met, that at least one of the time criteria or theconnection criteria is met, and in response the electronic deviceattempts to re-establish the second connection.
 18. The non-transitorymemory of claim 17, wherein the first one or more establishment criteriainclude a criterion that is satisfied when the first signalcharacteristic exceeds a first threshold value and/or the second signalcharacteristic exceeds a second threshold value.
 19. The non-transitorymemory of claim 17, wherein preventing the electronic device fromattempting to establish the second connection includes at least one of:transmitting a deauthentication frame to the electronic device;partially null-beamforming probe responses transmitted to the electronicdevice; or obfuscating parameters associated with the WLAN.
 20. Thenon-transitory memory of claim 17, wherein the network message comprisesone of: (i) a management frame, (ii) a deauthentication frame, or (iii)an association response.